Brahms - Six Pieces For Piano Opus 118

Brahms wrote nothing for the piano that can be called easy. Brahms piano writings abound with technical difficulties, especially for a small hand, and challenge pianist's musicality. The ultimate in what Brahms demands of a pianist can be seen with his Studies For Pianoforte, Variations On A Theme Of Paganini Opus 35, a work of daring virtuosity and extreme technical demands.

Later in his life Brahms began to mellow somewhat. His music became more introspective, with his six piano pieces of Opus 118 being a prime example. Brahms still makes demands on the pianist, but gone is any outwardly flashy virtuosity. But any pianist that has worked their way through them can tell you they are far from simple.

The pieces have no obvious musical connection between each other; each one is a self-contained work. But the mood of each seems to compliment the next, as Brahms well understood.  They were published in 1893 and dedicated to Clara Schumann.

1.Intermezzo in A minor. Allegro non assai, ma molto appassionato - This opening piece is the only one in the set that is in binary form and with its restless nature acts as a prelude or introduction to the rest of the set.

2. Intermezzo in A major. Andante teneramente - A mellow piece that has a middle section that has the melody played in the right hand and as it plays the left hand plays the melody a quarter beat behind creating a canon along with the accompaniment.  The first eight-bar section is repeated, and then it is developed. The music smoothly flows into a repeat of the opening section of the piece. This piece as well as the rest of the pieces are in ternary form

3.Ballade in G minor. Allegro energico - A passionate piece, with a melody that floats above the crashing chords in both hands. A gentle middle section is in B major. The opening section is repeated, but the middle section comes back as a short coda in the minor to end the piece.

4.Intermezzo in F minor. Allegretto un poco agitato - A restless first section leads to a contrasting middle section that moves at a steady pace. The restless beginning returns and plays until it shifts key into the major mode at the end.

5. Romanze in F major. Andante - The melody is carried by the highest voice and doubled in the bass. Other notes add to the texture of the harmony and enrich the melody. The middle section is in D major and consists of a melody that repeats over an ostinato bass. The melody varies each time it repeats until it melts into a series of trills. The beginning returns and the melody is reinforced by octaves in the right hand.

6.Intermezzo in E flat minor. Andante, largo e mesto - Written in the rare key of E-flat minor, the piece begins with dark rumblings that lead to a march-like middle section that swells in tone and harmony. This collapses into the dark rumblings of the beginning. There are a few shafts of light as the major mode is invoked, but the tragedy of the opening returns. The end is near, as the music swells in volume once more before it fades away into the abyss.

Mendelssohn - Capriccio Brilliant for Piano And Orchestra

The Polish piano vistuoso and composer Fryderyk Chopin was notorious in his negativity towards other composers. Chopin had formed his artistic aesthetic early on, so it's no wonder that his opinions about others who did not share his views were disparaging. One of the composers that met with his admiration was Felix Mendelssohn. Chopin had traveled to Berlin in 1828 to hear him play, but was too shy to introduce himself. When Chopin had his first public recital  in Paris in 1832, Liszt and Mendelssohn both attended. Chopin made a strong impression on Mendelssohn. They met, became friends and stayed in contact for the rest of Chopin's life.

The two composers were only a year apart in age, and both of them had the distinction of maturing as a composer while still in their teen years. Mendelssohn especially matured early on, as two of his most popular compositions, the String Octet and Overture To A Midsummer Night's Dream were both written by the time he was seventeen. They both admired J.S.Bach's music as Chopin played Bach extensively and used the preludes and fugues of The Well Tempered Clavier to keep his fingers limber before recitals. Mendelssohn was a key figure in the revival of Bach's music as he arranged and conducted the St. Matthew Passion in 1829.  The two had a certain classisism as part of their artistic makeup, although it took a different course in each other's work.

There was a composer that also had an influence on both Chopin and Mendelssohn, Carl Maria von Weber. Specifically, it was Weber's Konzertstück For Piano that served as a model for Mendelssohn's works for piano and orchestra. This can be seen in the structure of Mendelssohn's Capriccio Brilliant For Piano and Orchestra. Mendelssohn's work begins with an introduction played andante, that is similar in structure and feeling to the beginning of Weber's  Konzertstück. From the introduction the music segues into the music at a faster tempo and more dramatic in nature, the beginning of the first theme. This first theme is expanded upon with a few different motifs thrown in for good measure until there is a slight slowing of the tempo which signals the opening of the second theme which is first played by the orchestra. This second theme has a resemblance to the march section of Weber's work.  The development section follows, and the recapitulation begins with the first theme followed by the second theme which is transformed to the minor mode and ends the work.

In 1845 Chopin told Mendelssohn in a letter:

“Let me remind you that even if you do possess friends and admirers worthier and closer to you, none is more sincere than I.”

Sadly, both composers also shared an early death. Mendelssohn in 1847 of a stroke when he was 38 years old, Chopin in 1849 of tuberculosis when he was 39 years old. While Chopin's music never really went out of fashion, Mendelssohn's did. Mendelssohn was never a part of the 'New Music' movement of Wagner and Liszt and that Nazi Germany banned his music because of his Jewish heritage didn't do his reputation any good. There has been a revival and reevaluation of Mendelssohn and he is now regarded as a great Romantic Era composers.

Bruch - Symphony No. 2 In F Minor

Max Bruch is perhaps more well known for his works for solo violin and orchestra. His Violin Concerto No. 1 is still popular and the Scottish Fantasy for violin and orchestra still garners performances in the concert hall and on recordings, and during his lifetime was most well known for his vocal music. But he wrote over 200 compositions and made contributions to most of the traditional musical forms of the late 19th century. The style and character of all of his works puts him squarely in the conservative Brahms camp versus the progressive Liszt/Wagner camp. He lived a long life (1838 - 1920) and became somewhat of an anachronism. But his music is very well constructed, and the best works have a late Romantic drama to them that is more appreciated now then in the last years of his life.

Bruch's musical education began with Ferdinand Hiller and continued in music theory with a friend of his father's. Bruch's general education was not neglected, as he learned to speak and understand French and English as well as German. He was nine when he composed his first piece, and held many different positions as kappelmeister and teacher. He retired from teaching in 1911 and devoted the rest of his life to composition.
Bruch's successful  Symphony No. 1 In E-flat Major (1867) was followed by his Symphony No.2 In F Minor (1870).  The work is in three movements:

I. Allegro passionato, ma un poco -  This movement is in sonata form and begins with a short, dark introduction by the timpani and strings. The main theme is sounded out quietly by the strings and then loudly by the full orchestra.  The next theme is a more flowing one that remains in the minor. A third theme appears, just as dramatic as the preceding ones. Other themes enter, the number of which depends on what the listener's ear makes of the material whether it is an actual theme, a connecting melodic bridge to a theme, or a short motif. Themes are developed as the music constantly moves towards the end of the movement, when the opening theme quietly closes out the movement.

II. Adagio ma non troppo - The strings carry the main theme of this movement in music lighter in feeling than the first movement, but still in the minor mode, this time of C minor. Bruch follows the same general procedure as the first movement by introducing themes and developing them in a loose sonata form. The movement closes with a gentle reference to the main theme, and goes directly to the last movement without pause.

III. Allegro molto tranquillo -  The movement begins with a syncopated figure played by the strings. The music swells slightly until the main theme in F major is played by the strings. The woodwinds have their turn with the theme. A theme in dotted rhythm is played by the strings as the volume increases and the horns state an extension of the second theme which is developed until it reaches a climax with the full orchestra in dotted rhythm. The development section begins with the first theme played in the oboe and parts of the theme are then passed to other members of woodwind.  The recapitulation has themes return, some in different keys. The end of the symphony emphasizes the dotted rhythm in the horns and brass while the strings add rapid and surging figures as accompaniment.

The symphonies of Bruch aren't ground breaking works by any means. Thematic material isn't very striking, and his forms and developments aren't overly original. But what is evident is his skill in musical construction and orchestrating, as well as his sense of the dramatic.

Litolff - Concerto Symphonique No. 4 In D Minor

In 1854 the piano virtuoso and composer Henry Litolff made a visit to Wiemar to see Franz Liszt who was acting kappelmeister there, and the two struck up a friendship of kindred spirits. Liszt had this to say about Litolff's Concerto Symphonique No. 4 that was shown to him while still in manuscript form:

"[Litolff's] Fourth Symphonic concerto is a remarkable composition...there is certainly something winged in his [playing]"

Liszt returned the visit to Litolff in Brunswick (Braunschweig in German) where Litolff ran a music publishing house and was a leader of the local music scene. The friendship grew and Litolff invited Liszt back to Brunswick to participate in a music festival he had organized there (he also invited another of his friends Hector Berlioz), where Litolff played Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major in concert, as well as his own Concerto Symphonique No. 4.

It has been said that the sincerest form of flattery is imitation. While Liszt's First Piano Concerto certainly is  not a carbon-copy of Litolff's, it does have some similarities. Both have four movements instead of the customary three, in each case the additional movement is a scherzo. Even the notorious (at the time) addition of a triangle to the Liszt scherzo was first done by Litolff. Perhaps the greatest sign of admiration for Litolff's concerto was the dedication Liszt gave to Litolff of his First Piano Concerto. (see comment below)

Litolff was a man afflicted with wanderlust until his later years. He moved away from his native England when he was seventeen, lived in Paris, Warsaw, Brunswick, and traveled all over Europe playing the piano and composing. He was also married four times, and with his fourth wife ended his days in a suburb of Paris.   

The concerto is in four movements:

I. Allegro con fuoco -  The movement begins with a loud chord from the full orchestra followed by a short cadenza for piano. The strings play a quiet short section that leads to another loud chord for full orchestra, cadenza from the piano, and quiet section from the strings which leads to the full orchestra stating the theme that is the basis of the entire movement. The piano writing is virtuosic, sometimes being of a thematic nature and sometimes being an elaborate accompaniment to the orchestra.  The music is passionate, dramatic and is truly written as a symphony for orchestra and piano obbligato.

II. Scherzo - Presto -  This is the one piece by Litolff that is most often heard on recordings and in concert halls. The music is Mendelssohnian and includes a part for piccolo and triangle, the first time either were used in a piano concerto. The orchestra and piano have a rhythmic and rapid dialog in the scherzo, while in the trio  the orchestra plays more subdued  music, but the piano keeps interrupting the calmness with the jauntiness of the scherzo until it wins out and the scherzo is repeated. A short coda has the piano play rapid  interlocking chromatic octaves before the orchestra and piano end the movement with staccato chords.

III. Adagio religioso - Cantabile - The piano solemnly begins the movement, followed up by the horns playing the lyrical theme. The piano enters once again and plays a variant of the opening theme. The horns are accompanied by the piano as they repeat the theme. The theme drifts in and out as the piano plays runs and arpeggios.  The music reaches a climax as the theme is played again by the horns. A swell from the orchestra and piano accompanies the horns as they play a fragment of the theme. The movement ends quietly with muted strings and broken chords in the piano.

IV. Allegro impetuoso - As in the first movement, Litolff uses one theme as the inspiration for most of the movement, and this one theme is related to the motif in the first movement. This gives the entire work a cohesiveness that is more easily felt than explained. There is a short fugato treatment of the theme later in the movement for orchestra alone as the piano is quiet for a rather long stretch for a concerto. But with such difficulties throughout this concerto, a short break for the pianist isn't all bad. The piano plays all manner of figurations of tremendous difficulty. The piano plays bristling octaves and figures as it moves towards the coda that turns the music to a majestic close in the major mode.

Respighi - Ancient Airs And Dances Suite No. 1

The Russian composer and teacher Rimsky-Korsakov had an unlikely pupil in Ottorino Respighi, who studied composition with Rimsky-Korsakov for five months when he was in Russia serving as the principle violist in the opera orchestra at St. Petersburg. Respighi's works for orchestra show his skill and knowledge of the instruments and a real feel for orchestral color, no doubt enhanced by his studies with Rimsky-Korsakov. Respighi also studied historical music while a student in Italy, as well as the violin. He toured as a performer for a few years as a violinist but soon devoted his career to composition and conducting.

Respighi's first compositions were tone poems as well as operas, modern works that showed the influence of Wagner and Debussy. But Respighi never forgot his studies of historical music, and in 1917 he orchestrated his first Suite of Ancient Airs And Dances. He arranged his suite from collections of Italian lute music that had been printed in the 1880's by Italian musicologists. Respighi uses a modest sized orchestra but to full effect. He arranged very old music in the modern clothes of the 20th century orchestra. The first suite has 4 movements:

I. Balletto detto “Il Conte Orlando" - The original lute piece this movement was was written by Simone Molinaro (c. 1565 – 1615) , a late Renaissance composer, and published in 1599.  The opening begins quietly but grows in volume and weight. A contrasting middle section is in the minor and is of a more somber mood, but the opening music is repeated and brings the dance to a close. It is written for oboes, harpsichord and strings.

II. Gagliarda - This dance is also known as a Galliard. It is scored for pairs of flutes, oboes, bassoon and horns as well as cor anglaise, harp, harpsichord and strings. It was composed by Vincenzo Galilei (c. 1520-1591), who was the father of Galileo Galilie, the famous astronomer and early scientist. The music has a stronger rhythm, and in its day the gagliarda was considered a lewd dance by many because it was a dance full of leaps and exagerated movements. The rhythmic opening is tempered by a middle section that is slightly subdued in tone but still very rhythmic. The music is repeated, and the dance ends.

III. Villanella - This sad and delicate dance is scored for flute, oboe, harp and strings. The original composer is unknown.

IV.Passo mezzo e mascherada - Respighi uses two anonymous tunes in the final movement of the suite. The meaning of the title pazzo mezzo is not known but it may refer to the type of steps found in the original dance. The mascherada is a villanella like the third movement but not as sorrowful. Mascheradas were played at carnival or masked balls. The mascherada is interrupted by the pazzo mezzo until it finally takes over and has the last word.  The final movement is scored for pairs of flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns, one trumpet, harp, harpsichord and strings.

Bach - Organ Concerto In A Minor, Based On Vivaldi Concerto For Two Violins BWV 593

Near the end of Johann Sebastian Bach's life there was a move away from the more 'learned' forms in music, mainly fugue and counterpoint. His sons were some of the leaders of this change to the  style galant that would lead to the Classical Era of Haydn and Mozart. Amid all the changes in musical style of the time, the Elder Bach's music was being looked upon as well crafted, but old fashioned. But Johann Sebastian could compose in the newer style of melody and accompaniment when he so chose. Bach was in many ways the culmination of the Baroque Era in music, and within that culmination lay the seeds of the future.

The Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi had his set of concertos titled L'estro Armonico, Opus 3 (Harmonic Inspiration) published in 1711. This was a set of 12 concertos for one, two or four violins and was a very influential set of compositions. Bach was introduced to the music of Vivaldi with these concertos while he was in the employ of the Duke of Weimar's court for the second time from 1708 to 1717. Bach went on to transcribe and arranged 8 of Vivaldi's concertos for differing ensembles. The concerto  in A Minor for two violins, violins, cello and continuo was arranged by Bach as a concerto for solo organ.

From his childhood, Bach learned from other composers by copying out or arranging their music. it was a time when many works were copied out by hand by composers and performers as the publishing of music was an expensive endeavor and as a result the printed copies were expensive to purchaseVivaldi's work was assimilated by Bach in the same way, and Vivaldi made a lasting impression on his music.

Antonio Vivaldi

Vivaldi's original concerto's figured bass continuo part was fleshed out by Bach, with the two solo parts and accompaniment spread out over the manuals of the organ. It is interesting to compare the original with Bach's transcription, as it gives some idea of Bach's skill and knowledge of what the organ was capable of. Bach was a literal 'one man band' when he played the instrument. Bach maintained the Italian style of the originals as well as most of the notes contained in the two solo violin parts. The violin and organ are two vastly differnet instruments, so the literal transrciption of most of the solo parts causes some real difficulties for the organist, but as Bach made these transcriptions for his own use, that was probably of no concern. The concerto is in three movements:

I. Allegro -  The concerto begins with two chords and a downward run. Vivaldi's concertos are full of fast scales up and down the fingerboard of the violin and Bach includes them in this concerto. The first movement is rapid and is in the home key of A minor.

II. Andante -  In Vivaldi's original, the first four bars of the second movement are played by all the instruments, after which they are repeated throughout the movement as a continuous accompaniment to the solo violins that play different melodies. Bach maintains the ostinato in one manual as the soloist parts play in the other. The pedals are silent in this movement, and it is in the key of D minor.  The soloists remain silent as the four bars of the beginning play to end the movement.

III. Allegro - The music returns to a brisk tempo and the key of A minor. After the initial statement is repeated, Bach changes the chords played by one of the solo violins to running sixteenth notes while keeping the original eighth notes of the original, one of the few actual alterations to the notes of the original. This adds brilliance to the music, perhaps Bach was flexing his organ playing muscles. He must have liked the effect for he repeats the changes later in the movement.

There was probably more than one reason for Bach's transcription. Perhaps his royal employer wished to hear the music of Vivaldi, perhaps Bach wanted to show his employer what he could do on the instrument. Whatever the extenuating reasons, Bach took the opportunity and made it a learning experience.

Buxtehude - Praeludium In G Minor BuxWV. 149

The oldest known type of musical instrument is the flute. Examples made from animal bone have been found in caves that were inhabited by early humans between 30,000 - 40,000 years ago. There is still much debate in the scientific community as to the exact dates, but there is not doubt that they were flutes as they had v-shaped mouthpieces and finger holes.

Taking a huge jump forward in history some 30,000 years (give or take)  to Greece in the 3rd century B.C.E., there is the first known example of an organ. This instrument was called the Hydraulis, (literally water organ in Greek) as it used wind pressure derived from water to sound the pipes. The Hydraulis was also the first instrument known to have a keyboard. So the pipe organ as we know it is an ancestor of the first flutes made from bone and the Hydraulis of ancient Greece.

Another jump forward in history to the 14th century sees further advancement in the pipe organ as now it has not only a keyboard and pipes, but a source of air pressure from bellows operated by humans. Organs at this time also had different sets of pipes, or ranks, that could be engaged with the keyboard in many combinations to create different sounds from the instrument.

By the time of J. S. Bach, organ playing had evolved into different schools, one of which was the Northern German school of organ playing. Musicologists have traced the beginnings of the North German school back to a Dutch composer and teacher, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, (1562 - 1656)  who had German students that carried the style back to Germany.  One of the most famous organ players and composers of the North German School was Dieterich Buxtehude (1637? - 1707) He was trained by his father who was also an organist, and eventually ended up in  Lübeck at the Marienkirche as organist and music director.

Jan Pieterzoon Sweelinck

Buxtehude enlarged the Abendmusik, a series of evening concerts performed in the church. This series began in 1641 and ended in 1810 and Buxtehude was the first composer to play the organ at these concerts. The businessmen of Lübeck paid for these concerts so they were free to the public.  Buxtehude's reputation was so great as a result of these concerts that Bach, Handel, Matteson and other composers of the time would travel to Lübeck to hear him play. The influence of Buxtehude on the next generation of composers was enormous.

Buxtehude is most well known for his organ music, but he wrote many vocal compositions, most of which are not thought to have survived. His ninteen Praeludium (preludes) for organ make up the core of his surviving organ works.  They are works that consist of sections within each piece, usually a mixture of free improvisation and counterpoint. There are no two preludes that are exactly the same in number of sections to them, and they are considered to be Buxtehude's most important contribution to the North German school.

The Praeludium In G Minor, BuxWV 149 is a work in five sections.

Section 1 -  A short toccatta opens the work and then an ostinato theme is played in the bass while a free improvisation is carried over it.
Section 2 -  A fugue for 4 voices.
Section 3 -  After the fugue runs its course, this section returns to toccatta-like free form.
Section 4 -  Another 4 voice fugue.
Section 5 -  This last free form section grows directly out of  the preceding fugue and the piece ends rather suddenly.

Buxtehunde is not considered an innovator. At the most he was a transitional composer that combined the North German school with influences from Italian music.  But he wrote music that showed great skill and surprising emotional appeal. He must have been exceptional in improvisation at a time when musicians were expected to be able to improvise, as the existing organ music shows. Much of it has an improvisatory sound to it.